The present invention relates to a video recording and playback device having a video camera incorporated therein.
Video recording and playback devices with built-in video cameras form a large proportion of video tape recorders (hereinafter referred to also as "VTRs") in recent yeas. Various new products of such a design are increasingly offered by different manufacturers. It is expected that a wide variety of video recording and playback devices with built-in video cameras will be produced and used in diverse ways. Consumer needs will definitely demand more simplicity in handling such devices in recording and playback modes.
One conventional video recording and playback device with a built-in video camera, or a video camera with an image playback function, will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the video recording and playback device has an outer case 101 with supply and takeup reels 103a, 103b rotatably disposed therein. The device also has a lens 104, a microphone 105, a battery 107 which doubles as part of a grip, and a recording start button 108. In FIG. 1, magnetic tape 109 is withdrawn from the reels 103a, 103b and hence is fully loaded. Video and audio signals are recorded on and reproduced from the magnetic tape 109 by a magnetic head drum 110. Imaging units 128, 129 serve to focus an image of an object properly focused on a sensor and produce an image signal. The imaging units 128, 129 are also referred to as an optical system block and a circuit block, respectively. The device further includes a video/audio/power-receiving circuit which is supplied with electric power from the battery 107 for electrically processing video and audio signals to record or play back them. The image of the object can be monitored by a viewfinder 131 at the time it is recorded or reproduced. The electric power from the battery 107 is switched on and off by a power supply switch 132. The magnetic tape 109 which is wound around the reels 103a, 103b is stored in a tape cassette 136. The tape cassette 136 is positioned in place within the device by a mechanical chassis 137. The chassis 137 also supports a magnetic tape guide means for guiding the magnetic tape 109 to run around the magnetic head drum 110, and a magnetic tape transport means for transporting the magnetic tape 109 in a selected direction at a selected speed.
FIG. 3 shows the manner in which a conventional video recording and playback device 133 with a built-in video camera is used by the user to take pictures, i.e., record images. FIG. 4 illustrates the manner in which a magnetic tape on which images have been recorded by the device 133 is played back by the device 133 itself. FIG. 5 shows the manner in which a magnetic tape on which images have been recorded by the device 133 is played back by a stationary VTR 134. In FIG. 5, the stationary VTR 134 has a cassette insertion slot 135, and an output terminal assembly 137 for video and audio signals. The stationary VTR 134 is connected to a display unit 139 such as a television receiver (hereinafter referred to as a "TV") through the output terminal assembly 137. A larger cassette 138 can be loaded directly into the stationary VTR 134 through the cassette insertion slot 135. A smaller cassette 136 can be placed in an adapter 140 that is of the same size as the larger cassette 138.
Operation of the video recording and playback device 133 will be described below.
In order to record an image of an object with the device 133, the tape cassette 136 matching the device 133 is placed in the device 133, the power supply switch 132 is turned on, and the device 133 is set in a desired position. The magnetic tape 109 in the tape cassette 136 is pulled out of the tape cassette 136 by a tape loading means in the device 133. After the magnetic tape 109 is wound around the magnetic head drum 110 over a certain angular interval, the tape loading means is inactivated to stop the magnetic tape 109. The device 133 is now ready to record images. By holding the device 133 as shown in FIG. 3 and depressing the recording start button 108, the magnetic tape 109 starts running and images can be recorded on the magnetic tape 109. The image recording can be stopped by depressing the recording start button 108 again.
The recorded magnetic tape 109 may be played back in various ways. If the viewfinder 131 has an image display function, it is possible to see reproduced images through the viewfinder 131. Since the images reproduced by the image display function of the viewfinder 131 are very small, it is more general to see recorded images on TV for home use or the like. There are two ways of playing back the magnetic tape 109 on the TV.
According to the first method, as shown in FIG. 4, the tape cassette 136 with the recorded magnetic tape 109 therein is mounted in the device 133, and the magnetic tape 109 is played back by the device 133. An output signal from the device 133 is sent through a connecting cable to the display unit 139 such as TV which displays reproduced images. According to the second method, as shown in FIG. 5, the tape cassette 136 with the recorded magnetic tape 109 therein is mounted in the stationary VTR 134, and the magnetic tape 109 is played back by the stationary VTR 134. The display unit 139 such as TV connected to the stationary VTR 134 now displays reproduced images. If the tape cassettes loaded in the device 133 and the stationary VTR 134 are of the same size, then there is no problem in loading the tape cassette 136. However, the tape cassettes loaded in the device 133 and the stationary VTR 134 may be of different sizes depending on the specifications of the device 133. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, if the larger cassette 138 is used as the tape cassette 136 and images are recorded on the magnetic tape therein by the device 133, then the tape cassette 136 can be loaded directly into the stationary VTR 134 for playback. If, however, the smaller cassette 139 is used as the tape cassette 136 and images are recorded on the magnetic tape therein by the device 133, then the tape cassette 136 must first be set in the adapter 140, which is then loaded into the stationary VTR 134 for playback.
The video recording and playback device 133 with a built-in video camera has however been disadvantageous in that the tape cassette 136 having a size matching the device 133 has to be used and loaded beforehand in the device 133 for recording images.